Brief filed: 04/29/2015
Documents
United States v. Dreyer
9th Circuit Court of Appeals; Case No. 13-30077
Prior Decision
Decision below (panel decision) 767 F.3d 826 (9thCir. 2014).
Argument(s)
Suppression of evidence is a proper remedy for Posse Comitatus Act (PCA) violations. The PCA protects constitutional rights. Suppression is a proper remedy for statutory violations ties to constitutional rights. Even if the PCA does not implicate constitutional concerns, suppression is an authorized remedy for PCA violations under this court’s supervisory powers. The extensive military surveillance of civilians in this case, combined with the threat of future PCA violations enabled by emerging technologies, supports suppression here. The PCA violations here go beyond Dreyer’s specific case. The documented widespread and repeated PCA violations of the past will only continue in the future because of emerging technologies. Suppression is the only effective remedy for affected civilians.
Author(s)
Hanni Fakhoury and Jennifer Lynch, Electronic Frontier Foundation, San Francisco, CA; David Porter, Sacramento, CA.